Transfer News: Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta did not end up joining Barcelona.
Speaking in an interview as quoted by Fabrizio Romano, Thomas Tuchel has revealed that there are good chances club captain Cesar Azpilicueta could stay.
The Spaniard’s contract at Stamford Bridge was supposed to expire the coming summer but the club recently triggered the option to extend his contract by one more year until 2023.
The 32-year-old Spaniard has been at Stamford Bridge for a decade now and has established himself as a Blues legend. However, with his contract supposed to be expiring, Romano says that the Azpilicueta has a 2-year-contract on the table from Barcelona.
Azpilicueta has been as solid as ever this season. The Spanish international has been forced to fill in at right wing-back this season due to Reece James’ injury troubles and has not looked out of place, helping the club win the FIFA World Cup and reach the final of the Carabao Cup.
Tuchel revealed that there are good chances for the club captain to stay on for the next season.
“He’s our captain, we want him to stay – there are very good chances”.
After weeks and weeks of uncertainties, both on and off-field, this Azpilicueta news will come as a welcome relief for the Blues faithful. Chelsea fans will not want Azpilicueta to leave. The Spaniard has been talismanic at Stamford Bridge for a decade now, captaining the team to many titles during this period.
Chelsea could have a mass defensive exodus on their hands at the end of the current campaign. Azpilicueta might not have been the only central defender leaving Stamford Bridge with Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen also possibilities to leave the club on free transfers. While the future of the latter two is still uncertain, Tuchel’s words will inspire confidence with respect to the Spaniard.
Losing Azpilicueta would have meant that Chelsea would have not only lost another centre-back but also their captain. Although we have Thiago Silva and Jorginho who can assume that responsibility, losing the Spaniard would have still been a huge loss- and that still remains a possibility.
The club finds itself in a bit of a pickle with the ownership uncertainties going on and the new owners have a huge job on their hands come the summer. While the current sanctions prevent us from engaging in contract talks with our players, Azpi’s contract extension by way of an appearance-related clause comes as a welcome boost.
If Rudiger and Christensen leave, the potential new owners could have to shop for replacements in the market and at a time like that, the presence of Azpi would surely give us one less headache to worry about.
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